


high school sucks but it's better than fighting titans

by cford114



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 08:36:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2185041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cford114/pseuds/cford114
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is training to join the Shiganshina High soccer team, but finds conflict with a certain upperclassmen named Levi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	high school sucks but it's better than fighting titans

**Author's Note:**

> Another high school AU. My first SNK fanfic, so hopefully it goes well? This will most likely be multi-chapter, and I'm open to involving many characters with many storylines and possible ships. 
> 
> trigger warning for slight emetophobia. if you don't know what that is you're probably okay.

“Well, finally done with that hellhole,” I said, clutching my eighth grade diploma in one hand while the other was stuffed in the pocket of my slightly-too-short black slacks. Armin, Mikasa and I were just leaving the graduation ceremony, our parents strolling slightly behind. 

“Yeah, on to bigger and better things,” Armin said hopefully. 

“You sure about that?” I laughed, “I mean, middle school sucks, but I can’t imagine high school is much better. Just more stuff to do.” 

“Yeah, I guess. So, what are you guys planning to do at Shiganshina?” Armin asked. I looked at Mikasa. 

“I’m thinking of joining the fencing team. I don’t know, it might be fun.” 

“Fencing? What the hell is that?” I asked. 

“It’s basically sword fighting, but more elegant,” Mikasa replied with a smirk. 

“Sword fighting with a feminine flair, eh? Like this?” I mockingly put my feet together in a pirouette position while pretending to wield a sword. 

“Something like that,” Mikasa laughed. 

“What about you, Armin? What are you going to do? Join the basketball team?” I nudged Armin in the shoulder, barely reaching down far enough. Man, that kid was short. Armin smiled. 

“Very funny. Actually, I was planning on joining the mathletes. Or maybe the chess team. Or maybe both,” he grinned. 

“Mathletes? Are you fucking kidding me? That actually exists?” I laughed and covered my face with my free hand. 

“And you? What are your plans, Eren?” Mikasa asked me. 

“The soccer team, obviously. I want to be a Titan,” I declared. I had been playing soccer since before I could remember, so it was natural that I wanted to play for the soccer team. The Titans of Shiganshina High were the best soccer players around, winning the state championship three years in a row. 

“Figures, for a soccer fanatic like you,” Mikasa snickered. I smiled shyly. Soccer was my passion, and I took it with me wherever I went. 

 

Two weeks later, and I was standing on the sidelines of the Shinganshina High sports field, along with fifty-three other freshmen. An immensely tall man with no visible hair other than a small beard on his chin was pacing before us. His eyes were closed and his hands behind his back. 

“Hello and welcome to Shiganshina High, home of the Titans, and hello and welcome to your first day as freshmen soccer players.” Wild applause erupted from the boys standing before him, until he opened his eyes. They were quite sunken-in, which only intensified the scrutinous look he gave all of us. Immediately the applause ceased. 

“You have the misfortune of having me, Keith Shadis, as your coach and trainer as you prepare for tryouts,” He roared. 

“I do not welcome you warmly. In your current state, you’d be trampled by the other teams before you could even touch the ball. Over the next three months, we’re going to train you worthless nothings and teach you how to play soccer! Three months from now on tryout day, will you give it your all? Or will you fail, and become the laughingstock of the varsity players? It’s up to you to decide!” Keith Shadis had a way of looking all of us directly in the eye at the same time, making being in his presence not exactly enjoyable. In the few moments that he had been talking, the demeanors of the other freshmen went from happy and boisterous to absolutely petrified. 

“You may refer to me as coach Shadis, or Coach. I will now introduce you to the captains of the varsity team, and your senior coaches. Please welcome Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman!” Applause erupted from the freshmen once again, and, now that Shadis appeared to be finished speaking, their attitudes returned to normal. 

Erwin Smith was tall, blond, and rather clean-cut looking. His hair was parted neatly to the side, and his bushy eyebrows were perfectly tamed, like he gelled them or something. 

“Hey, newbies,” Erwin smiled politely. “I’m Erwin, and this is Levi.” Erwin pointed to the person standing next to him. 

Levi Ackerman was short. Shorter than me by at least a foot. Shorter than Armin, even. But his lack of height was made up in his ability to make a group of fifty-four freshmen shake in their soccer cleats while still looking bored out of his mind. 

“So, we need all of your paperwork turned in by tryouts, in three months like Coach said. If you don’t turn in your paperwork, you can’t try out, and all of this training will be for nothing. Understand?” There were a few ‘yes’s and many nods, then Erwin continued speaking. 

“For the freshmen team, we have twenty-five open spots. Twenty for junior varsity, and fifteen spots for the varsity team, which Levi and I are captains of. That means that over half of you—twenty-nine players in total—will not make the cut. Unless, of course, one of you somehow manages to make JV or varsity. This is a rare occurrence, and you should all treat it as an impossible one.” As Erwin said this, Levi glanced up from assessing the state of his nails and smirked at us. I caught his gaze for a split second, and then his eyes lowered to his hand once more. 

“I hope you guys give it your all at tryouts, and don’t forget to turn in your paperwork! Now Levi will explain the practice schedule,” Erwin finished, his bright smile contrasting with Levi’s downright annoyed facial expression. Levi glanced behind his back and around the field before speaking. It was not until later that I realized he did this to avoid Shadis catching him using the vulgar language he tended to use around the freshmen. 

“Alright, listen here you little shits. Practice is six AM through ten AM every morning, Monday through Friday, with six AM to twelve PM practice every Saturday, and then a break on Sunday, so you can go to church or some shit. If you’re late to practice, Shadis might just kick you off the roster right then and there, depending on his mood. And if he doesn’t, I sure will,” Levi continued, his annoyed expression growing into a grin with every word. 

“For about half of practice every day, we will condition. Weight room on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and cardio on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. And don’t think you can slack off in the weight room, as Erwin and I will be watching you extra closely to make sure you’re working with at least twice your weight on the leg machines,” Levi stopped to wink. “For the other half of practice, we will focus on drills. These drills could be anything from footwork, to more cardio, or even scrimmages. But don’t expect many of those. We will practice like this, with just the freshman and us two, until tryout day, aka the end of most of your soccer careers, in about three months.” Levi finished by flashing his teeth in a look one might perceive as bright, if it weren’t for the impish look he seemed to have plastered to his face. The way he looked at everyone pissed me off. Just because he was some hotshot varsity kid didn’t give him the right to scare all the freshmen shitless. I mean, I was scared pretty shitless myself, but fear is what motivated me. Along with bitchy upperclassmen with a superiority complex. 

“Um, yes,” Erwin cleared his throat, “That’s about it for practice details. Thanks, Levi. So today is a Thursday, which means cardio. First, we will run for two miles around town. Two miles may seem like a lot, but we will continue to run and gradually increase the distance to increase all of your stamina, so you can play for longer without getting tired. Levi and I will lead the way, so just follow everyone else and you won’t get lost. We promise we’ll take it slow.” 

“It’s okay if you get lost, you can always take a break, just don’t plan on coming back tomorrow,” Levi said in a smooth voice that dripped with fake sympathy. With that, he tucked his jet-black bangs behind his ears, pulled off his varsity jersey, and began to jog towards town. 

“Levi!” Erwin exclaimed, seeming more than slightly pissed off. Levi let out a laugh. “Yeah. Sorry.” 

The freshmen finished lacing up their cleats, and lined up behind Erwin and Levi. Once everyone was ready, we began to run. 

About halfway through the run, I began to get tired. My feet hurt from running on concrete in my cleats, and my throat felt dry from lack of water. I was definitely sweating, but I could do it. It wasn’t hard. The same couldn’t be said for everyone. I had been playing soccer for close to ten years, for others it was their first year. They struggled, and it was obvious. I honestly felt bad for them; it wasn’t their fault they couldn’t keep up. Levi didn’t quite agree with me.

I was in the front of the group, running just a few feet behind Levi and Erwin, who were having a conversation as they ran. I admired how unflustered they appeared to be, talking as if they were standing still. Levi bounded with each step, bringing his small body up several inches in the air. For each step Erwin took, Levi had to take at least two. I noticed how, while I dripping with sweat, Levi was barely glistening. His form reminded me of a classical Greek sculpture. I was trying to match my stride with Levi’s when I heard a yelp. I turned around to see a rather small kid on the pavement, desperately trying to tie his shoelaces while the others avoided trampling him to their best efforts. Attempting to ignore him, I turned back to Levi. He had slowed down slightly, and was watching the kid struggle. He chuckled at the kid after letting out a quiet but audible “sucks to be you, kid.” Erwin elbowed him in the ribs. I felt a pang of anger at Levi’s apathy. He increased his pace at a barely noticeable rate. This angered me even more, and immediately I ran forward as fast as I could, passing Levi just slightly in the process, before stopping just a few feet in front of him. Now I was at the head of the group. Levi scoffed behind me, and I felt a breeze behind me before he passed me, and then continued to run at an even faster pace. 

“Levi!” Erwin shouted, trying to control his friend and co-captain. My brow furrowed as I ran even faster to get ahead of Levi. Sweat dripped down my face, and my hair felt like a wet mop, but I ignored it. Levi and I continued this little game, and each time my lungs burned a little more. Then we started sprinting, or at least I did. Erwin was shouting, but Levi and I were so ahead we couldn’t hear him. My stomach began to cramp up, but again I ignored it. I continued to sprint ahead of Levi again and again.

My legs were cramping now, and my stomach was beginning to churn. I was overworking my body, but my desire to get ahead of this self-centered and apathetic bastard was overwhelming. Levi passed me again, and I immediately regretted eating such a large breakfast. I took one step before realizing what was about to happen. Helpless, I ran to the curb of the sidewalk and vomited the contents of my stomach into the road. 

The other freshmen ran past me as I stood there, humiliated. My face was bright red, and not just from running. I heard Levi laughing up ahead as he slowed his pace to match Erwin’s once again. Pissed off, tired, and sweaty, I reluctantly jogged to the back of the group.


End file.
